In light of the Thanksgiving holiday, we are republishing this relevant story from our archives.

Thanksgiving traditions vary among families, but the tie that binds us is the indulgent, gastronomic feast set on dinner tables across America on this holiday. We collectively pull up our chairs to gobble up pounds of savory food, and then unfasten the button of our pants to make room for sweet pumpkin pie. Photographer Matthew Carden's "Small World" photographs are a poignant, artistic reminder to cherish every tiny morsel of food this Thanksgiving. Finding bounty in each bite will help preserve the planet and foster a healthy, mindful approach to consumption.

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Matthew Carden’s pictorial elicits an understanding of the paradox that food is both a whimsical pleasure and a precious, vital gift. Thanksgiving is the ideal backdrop for a glimpse into his “Small World,” where food is both celebrated and appreciated. Carden’s aim is to “make viewers more aware of what they eat, and to simply think about food as an integral part of our world.” Via the juxtaposition of tiny figures amidst “seemingly colossal” food, his photographs, “speak of abundance and the ultimate waste produced on a daily basis in our land of plenty.”

According to the National Turkey Federation, the turkey industry earned $13.9 billion in 2007. 235 million of the 271 million turkeys raised in 2007 were consumed by Americans, mostly on Thanksgiving. Clearly, food production is an enormous enterprise; which means as eco-conscious advocates, we must be aware of our relationship with food, how we purchase it, consume it, and dispose of it.

Thanksgiving is an opportune time to teach our children good, earth loving habits such as buying organic, locally grown foods, preparing and eating food mindfully, and composting or recycling food waste and byproducts, or perhaps going the vegan or vegetarian route. With these roots, our children will grow-up with healthy traditions, which will be instilled in future generations.

On a global scale, Slow Food (as opposed to ‘fast food’), is an organization which seeks to educate people with regard to their relationship to food. They “believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.” Slow Food also seeks to enrich the lives of children and foster their healthy relationship with food, through their Taste Education missions, which include planting gardens in schools from whence school lunches are made.

Audrey Heller has been doing these since 1996. Slinkachu (above referenced by None) would have been 12 at the time. Willy Rojas was doing brilliant work in 1996, but had not begun this type of scale play. There is also a difference between being inspired by an idea and essentially copying the idea, and that difference is obvious here. Matthew Carden also happens to live in the same city as Audrey. Slinkachu is in London and Willy Rojas is in Barcelona.

I just found this and thought I should chime in to at least state my position.
I have been a Photographer for 20 years, and I started showing and selling this work back in the late 90′s. This particular series evolved as a fun and effective way for me to illustrate my ideas and “perspective” about food.
A lot of Artists around the world use these figures in their work. It’s nothing new, and I have seen similar types of shots dating back to the 70′s. I respect and support other Artists, and I enjoy that others also use the little people as subjects. I have even contacted many who work with them, and we all enjoy seeing the little folks in different settings from different perspectives. Thanks for the constructive comments, and for bringing all the artists mentioned above to peoples attention…

I see a world some day where all the little people out there can get along….

Just because a few artists are working with similar devices, in a similar style, does not necessarily mean that any of them are copying each other. Good ideas are easy to come by, and it is very common that different artists in different parts of the world come up with similar ideas independently. This happens all the time in the art world and in the design space, but to imply that there is some sort of plagiarism going on is taking things too far, I believe.

Matthew’s photography captured my imagination, and I thought it was the perfect vehicle for the topic I wanted to write about: food consumption and appreciation in light of the Thanksgiving holiday. Art that makes you think and opens your mind is a gift, and there is plenty of room for interpretation and artists to express themselves on many levels, even similar levels. I second what Matthew said:

I see a world some day where all the little people out there can get along….

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